Another Democrat Senator Calls for Reimposing the Fairness Doctrine

Democrat senator Debbie Stabenow has an ally in senator Tom Harkin. Stabenow recently told former chair of the California Democratic Party and radio talk show host Bill Press she would call for McCarthy-like hearings in Washington to have the government impose “balance” in talk radio. Stabenow backed down after the corporate “conservative” Sean Hannity plastered his Fox News website with the Michigan senator’s photo and phone number.

Stabenow’s jihad against talk radio minus government regulation and “fairness” received a boost after senator Tom Harkin told Press he favors the misnamed Fairness Doctrine. Here is a transcript from Harkin’s appearance on “progressive” (Democrat) Bill Press’ show (see video at right for audio of the interview):

BILL PRESS: And, thanks for your leadership, thanks for your good work, it’s great to have you there Senator. And, great to have you on the show. Appreciate it.

SENATOR TOM HARKIN (D-IA): Well, anytime â€“ just let me know Bill. I love being with you, and thanks again for all you do to get the truth and the facts out there. By the way, I read your Op-Ed in the Washington Post the other day. I ripped it out, I took it into my office and said ‘there you go, we gotta get the Fairness Doctrine back in law again.’

BILL PRESS: Alright, well good for you. You know, we gotta work on that, because they are just shutting down progressive talk from one city after another. All we want is, you know, some balance on the airwaves, that’s all. You know, we’re not going to take any of the conservative voices off the airwaves, but just make sure that there are a few progressives and liberals out there, right?

BILL PRESS: We’ll work on that together. Hey, thanks, Senator! Always good to talk to you.

SENATOR TOM HARKIN (D-IA): Thanks Bill, see you, bye.

Bill Press, however, is less than honest about why “they are just shutting down progressive talk from one city after another.” It has to do with the talk radio market — so-called “progressive” talk shows have dismal ratings and stations are replacing those shows with more profitable formats.

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Press told Michael Calderone of Politico “that he’s hoping Congressional leaders call for hearings on radio accountability, looking at whether stations are honoring the language in their public licenses. But Press also said he thinks the Fairness Doctrine — in its previous incarnation, at least — is outdated.”

Instead of reimposing the “outdated” — or rather, unconstitutional — Fairness Doctrine, Press and the Democrats want to hold “hearings” that will sensationalize their paranoid claim that “right-wingers” have taken over the airwaves. In fact, the corporate media has taken over the airwaves. Both Fox News and Air America represent opposing sides of the same false right-left paradigm and false opposition designed to defuse any effective activism directed against the government.

In the months ahead, Democrats may indeed hold “hearings” against the First Amendment, but the victims of this political persecution will not be Fox News or Clear Channel — the victims will be smaller radio networks and programs such as GCN and the Alex Jones Show. Fox will simply placate the Democrats and “progressives” by installing another Alan Colmes to represent the “left” while Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh represent the “right.”

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